{"id":262242,"date":"2025-05-29T07:38:13","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T07:38:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/american-history\/may-29-2025-2020s-blockbusters-barbie\/"},"modified":"2025-05-29T07:38:13","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T07:38:13","slug":"may-29-2025-2020s-blockbusters-barbie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=262242","title":{"rendered":"May 29, 2025: 2020s Blockbusters: Barbie"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

[Moviegoing
\nhas unquestionably changed a great deal in recent years, but there is still a
\nplace for the summer blockbuster, and I believe there always will be. So for
\nthe unofficial kickoff of another summer season, I wanted to AmericanStudy a
\nhandful of recent such blockbusters!]<\/p>\n

On what I
\nliked a lot about the recent mega-blockbuster, and what I loved.<\/span><\/p>\n

In lieu of
\na first paragraph here, I\u2019m going to recommend that y\u2019all check out an
\nexcellent <\/span>August
\n2024 podcast episode<\/span><\/a>, of Liam Heffernan\u2019s <\/span>America: A
\nHistory<\/span><\/i> podcast<\/span><\/a> and featuring guests Jon Mitchell and <\/span>Vaughn Joy<\/span><\/a>, on both
\nthe 2023 Barbie<\/i> film and <\/span>all things
\nBarbie<\/span><\/a>. Take a listen if you get a chance, and then come on back (or
\nstay here first, whatever works for ya) for my own thoughts on the film.<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a
\nlot I enjoyed about Barbie<\/i>, which made me laugh out loud a number of
\ntimes (no easy feat, as folks who know me can attest) and ultimately moved me
\ndeeply. The most moving element is the one I\u2019ll dive into in the final
\nparagraph, so for this one I\u2019ll talk about a corollary to the humor\u2014just how
\nconsistently and thoughtfully the film took me by surprise. I don\u2019t know what I
\nnecessarily expected from a movie about the world of Barbie dolls, but I know
\nfor sure that to my mind virtually nothing in this film was predictable\u2014and yet
\nas I watched it pretty much every one of those unexpected elements also felt
\nnatural, made sense within the world and story that was being created and portrayed.
\nI think that\u2019s really a miracle when we\u2019re talking about a film based on a toy,
\nwhich is what made it so silly when a ton of other toy-based
\nmovies were greenlit<\/a> (or at least considered) in the aftermath of Barbie<\/i>\u2019s
\nmega-success. Maybe the Polly
\nPocket movie<\/a> will be just as thoughtful and unique and effective, but boy
\nhowdy do I doubt it. <\/span><\/p>\n

Interestingly
\nenough, the thing I loved about Barbie<\/i>, and the element that moved me
\ndeeply, was in fact directly connected to the fact that this was a film
\ninspired by a toy. Nearly 13 years ago I blogged
\nabout<\/a> toys targeted at girls, and while I was focused there on new toys
\nlike the girl-centric Legos, the truth is that dolls have been girl-centered
\ntoys for
\ncenturies<\/a> at least. And at least in American history, no doll has been more
\nsuccessful and enduring than Barbie, making this particular toy an easy and
\nunderstandable target for those who want to critique the gendering of toys and
\nchildhood. That\u2019s a perspective that the film certainly shares at times, but
\nultimately it moves in a very different direction, considering how both Barbie
\nand the film\u2019s human characters (especially the mother-daughter
\nduo<\/a> at the story\u2019s center) have to navigate these issues of gendered expectations,
\nideals, limits, and more. That led up to one of my favorite movie moments in a
\nlong time, Barbie\u2019s conversation
\nwith her creator Ruth Handler<\/a>, which, to round off this post, was both
\nentirely unexpected and profoundly moving. <\/span><\/p>\n

Last
\nblockbuster tomorrow,<\/span><\/p>\n

Ben<\/span><\/p>\n

PS. What
\ndo you think? Summer blockbusters, recent or otherwise, you\u2019d analyze?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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